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EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE SEPTEMBER 29, 1997, 11:30 AM (ET)
NATIONWIDE INCREASE IN ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE UNDERSCORES NEED FOR APPROPRIATE TREATMENT OF BACTERIAL INFECTIONS
(Toronto, September 29, 1997) -- Results of a large U.S. surveillance study demonstrate that 38 percent of common disease-causing Haemophilus influenzae bacteria collected from patients seen in the doctor's office are potentially drug resistant -- a 15 percent increase nationally in the last three years alone. This study was presented today at the 37th Annual Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC).
The bacterium H. influenzae is the number one cause of chronic bronchitis and the second most common cause of middle-ear infections in children and sinus infections in adults and children.
"The results of this study demonstrate the growing trend of antibiotic resistance among Haemophilus influenzae and support the use of antibiotics that are designed to treat respiratory infections caused by these resistant bacteria," says Linda Miller, Ph.D., microbiologist, SmithKline Beecham Pharmaceuticals. From January to December 1996, researchers from SmithKline Beecham Clinical Laboratories collected 8,646 isolates of H. influenzae from patients in 37 states and the District of Columbia to determine the percentage of the bacteria that produced the enzyme beta-lactamase. In sufficient amounts, beta-lactamase can inactivate certain antibiotics, including penicillin, amoxicillin and some cephalosporins. Overall, 38 percent of the bacteria produced beta-lactamase.
"In the face of increased drug resistance, physicians should be aware of local resistance patterns in order to prescribe the appropriate antibiotics," said Daniel Burch, M.D., Group Director of Anti-infective Clinical Research, SmithKline Beecham Pharmaceuticals. "Physicians should also be familiar with resistance patterns in specific patient populations."
In this surveillance study, beta-lactamase producing bacteria were found most frequently in children. Such bacteria were found in 41 percent of children under the age of six, 37 percent between the ages of seven and 12, and 33 percent between the ages of 13 and 21. States in which the percentage of beta-lactamase producing H. influenzae were found to be highest were Indiana (59%), Tennessee (51%) and Kansas (46%). The percentage of resistant bacteria was higher in the winter months than in the summer months.
This study was sponsored by SmithKline Beecham Pharmaceuticals, maker of Augmentin" (amoxicillin/clavulanate potassium), in collaboration with SmithKline Beecham Clinical Laboratories. Augmentin is the only oral antibiotic specifically designed to resist beta-lactamase. Augmentin contains clavulanate, which inhibits beta-lactamase and prevents resistance to amoxicillin. Combining amoxicillin with clavulanate is a very rational approach to overcome beta-lactamase producing H. influenzae.
SmithKline Beecham -- one of the world's leading healthcare companies -- discovers, develops, manufactures, and markets pharmaceuticals, vaccines, over-the-counter medicines, and health-related consumer products, and provides healthcare services including clinical-laboratory testing, disease management, and pharmaceutical-benefit management.
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